Feds shutdown Chinatown buses

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RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) - Citing safety hazards, the federal government shut down more than 25 Chinatown bus companies that offer low-cost rides to New York City's Chinatown neighborhood.

“These aggressive enforcement actions against unsafe bus companies send a clear signal: If you put passengers’ safety at risk, we will shut you down,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. “Safety is and will always be our highest priority.”

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration officials said they shut down three primary bus companies - Apex Bus, Inc., I-95 Coach, Inc. and New Century Travel, Inc. The FMCSA said those three companies "oversaw a broad network of other bus companies."

The FMCSA said it began investigating the bus companies last year after a series of crashes along I-95.

On May 31, 2011, four people were killed when bus ran off Interstate 95 in Caroline County. Bus driver Kin Yiu Chung, 37, told police he'd fallen asleep while driving.